A 360 Degree Operational View

With iVend Retail integrated to QuickBooks, even the smallest store can achieve that!

EasyBiz Technologies, the authorised local partner to Intuit QuickBooks Desktop, has forged a relationship with CitiXsys, developer of iVend Retail, to provide SMB retailers with a comprehensive, omnichannel solution that automates data sharing between accounting, point of sale (POS), and store systems to eliminate time-consuming data tasks. As a result of time saved, retailers can apply more focus on providing exceptional customer experiences.

With data shared between QuickBooks Desktop and iVend Retail, retailers gain deeper insights into their business health and customers and are not required to enter the same data into two platforms.

iVend Retail integrates with QuickBooks via open API, enabling retailers to manage finances and inventory centrally across their entire enterprise. The system even enables individual stores to continue transacting if the connection to the head office is unavailable. QuickBooks Desktop data, including customer credit limits, account information, payment methods, tax rules and percentages, as well as currencies, provides merchants with a complete picture of operations when analyzed and is the perfect accounting tool for existing iVend Retail customers looking for effective support. It provides step-by-step instructions for day-to-day tasks, such as creating invoices and recording expenses, so merchants can implement it quickly — and no accounting experience in necessary to do so.

“A point of sale system that integrates with QuickBooks is something that our retail customers have been asking for. We conducted an extensive search for the best solution to answer their call. A partnership with CitiXsys was a no brainer, their omnichannel retail management solution, iVend Retail,gives even the smallest retail store greater control with an integrated retail platform that automates inventory, sales, customer and financial data. The days of tedious manual data entry are now a thing of the past,”said Gary Epstein, Managing Director at EasyBiz Technologies.

iVend Retail is an integrated Omnichannel retail management solution by CitiXsys that helps retailers to optimize business operations to gain more time to focus on what really matters – cultivating customer engagement and capitalizing on retail trends. iVend Retail is the chosen retail management platform for thousands of retailers in over 85 countries. Our high quality and cost-effective integrated retail solutions help retailers increase revenue, build customer loyalty, reach new customers and lower their operating costs. For more information about iVend Retail, visit www.ivend.com or email us at contact@citixsys.com.

About EasyBiz Technologies

Since 2004, EasyBiz (Pty) Ltd has been the exclusive South and Sub-Saharan African distributor for the world’s leading cloud accounting solutions provider, Intuit QuickBooks.

Offering a range of products to fulfil the bookkeeping and accounting needs of start-ups and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), EasyBiz recorded having more than 50,000 businesses utilising the quick-to-learn, quick-to-use QuickBooks Desktop solution in 2018.

With more than 5.6 million users worldwide, QuickBooks is the #1 accounting software in the world. Not only can it be up and running in just a matter of minutes, it also automates painful accounting tasks and enables small businesses to generate reports, monitor budgets and keep on top of their finances without needing to fill in endless spreadsheets or deal with complicated calculations.

In response to the growing global demand for more online solutions, in addition to QuickBooks Desktop offering, EasyBiz offers QuickBooks Online software with options tailored to the needs of businesses of different shapes and sizes. QuickBooks Online Accountant (QBOA) – a solution that offers accountants innovative tools to simplify tasks while ensuring greater control – was also recently launched in South Africa in February 2018.

The EasyBiz Johannesburg-based head office provides local QuickBooks customers with access to business advisors and software experts, telephone, email and on-site support, as well as installation services and ongoing training courses and seminars.

New York, NY, October 29, 2018 – CitiXsys, a leading provider of integrated omnichannel retail management solutions has raised $20 million in Series B funding. The investment round is led by Housatonic Partners and brings the total amount raised by CitiXsys to $45 million following on a Series A round of $25 million.

GROW WITH US

Be at the forefront as we innovate new features to better serve retailers across the world.

While retail sales appear to be solid, competition and customer expectations have never been higher. According to Deloitte, winning and retaining customers in the digital era requires a mix of personalization, relevance and engagement across in-store and eCommerce. CitiXsys solutions enable retailers to compete in virtually any sales channel and provide the personalized, consistent experiences customers have come to expect today. The company counts the likes of Samsonite, Virgin Mobile, Crabtree & Evelyn, Circle K, Asics, The Al Muhaidib Group and Havaianas as clients.

A pioneer in integration technology, CitiXsys counts alliances with Sage, SAP and Microsoft as part of its integration strategy, offering certified connections via Open API to enterprise resource planning and other third-party solutions giving retailers the right tools to respond to rapidly changing markets with agility.

According to Mark Hilderbrand, Managing Director of Housatonic Partners, “We believe CitiXsys will continue to serve as a growth platform in the retail software market for many years to come and that our investment will accelerate CitiXsys’ global growth both organically and inorganically.”

“Purchasing a retail management solution is one of the most important decisions a retailer can make, since the future of the entire business hangs on its success. CitiXsys aims to minimize this risk for retailers contemplating their digital transformation with a modular, platform approach designed to scale as retail operations grow in size, across geographies and in technological complexity,” said CitiXsys CEO Kamal Karmakar. “This latest capital will assist us to significantly ramp-up our own growth, in addition to supporting an aggressive M&A approach as we look for strategic acquisition targets.”

Founded in 2005, CitiXsys has become a leading mid-market retail software player with 14 offices around the world and solutions used by thousands of retailers in over 85 countries.

BECOME A PARTNER

Address the growing global retail sector with the most complete out-of-the box Omnichannel solution available today.

CitiXsys is a leader in retail management software that is recognized worldwide for its rich functionality, multi-national capabilities, and unparalleled flexibility. The flagship solution suite, iVend Retail helps retailers to optimize business operations to gain more time to focus on what really matters – cultivating customer engagement and capitalizing on retail trends. CitiXsys integrated omnichannel retail solutions help retailers increase revenue, build customer loyalty, reach new customers and lower their operating costs. For more information, please visit www.citixsys.com.

About Housatonic Partners

Housatonic Partners is a private equity investment firm founded in 1994, with more than $1.3 billion in capital under management. The firm invests in growing, profitable businesses with highly recurring revenue. Housatonic Partners has backed exceptional management teams in more than 90 small to mid-sized companies over the last 24 years. For more information, please visit www.housatonicpartners.com.

]]>https://ivend.com/citixsys-closes-20m-series-b-for-its-integrated-omnichannel-solutions-designed-for-retailers/feed/05 Good Reasons to Integrate Your Retail Loyalty Program with Your POS Systemhttps://ivend.com/5-good-reasons-to-integrate-your-retail-loyalty-program-with-your-pos-system/
https://ivend.com/5-good-reasons-to-integrate-your-retail-loyalty-program-with-your-pos-system/#respondThu, 01 Nov 2018 04:52:51 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20620A loyalty rewards program is a great way to engage customers and encourage repeat business. Research for our 2018 Global Path to Purchase Survey found an overwhelming 83% of shoppers worldwide factor in loyalty programs when deciding where to shop.

Build Happy Customers

Connect with your shoppers to deliver an experience they’ll remember.

But did you know that if your loyalty program isn’t integrated with your point of sale (POS) system, you are limiting ROI? Here are five good reasons to integrate POS and loyalty to maximize benefits for your business:

More Meaningful DataUsing an integrated platform means all systems and applications share data. Loyalty data, although valuable on its own, can offer deeper insights when you analyze it with other information from the point of sale. With an integrated system, for example, you could easily determine the merchandise your most loyal customers are buying, which can allow you to forecast more accurately and avoid stock-outs. In addition, data from an integrated system gives you an overall, real-time view of your business — something that’s virtually impossible with nonintegrated systems.

Smarter MarketingYour loyalty program can also be a great marketing tool — if it can access the right data. Matching sales data with loyalty program accounts empowers you to make personalized offers to loyalty program members and to grow your business. According to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experiences.

An integrated loyalty-POS system can also mean better marketing overall. Loyalty program members provide basic demographic information when they sign up for your program, which you can use to understand your customer base better and precisely tailor marketing. With a fully integrated retail management platform, including integration with your CRM system, you can communicate effectively with all of your customers and gauge the effectiveness of promotions and marketing campaigns.

Moreover, loyalty program integration with your POS system allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your loyalty program itself. Are customers participating in offers? Do they respond positively to rewards? Does it encourage repeat business? The combined data from your POS system and loyalty program can give you the answers.

Customer ConvenienceAnother important reason to integrate your loyalty program with your POS system is to enhance customer experiences. With an integrated system, sales associates can enter the customer’s ID number or scan a loyalty card so points from a purchase are instantly added to the customers’ account. They can also easily check a point balance and apply points during checkout – which is the type of experience your customers want. A Bond Brand Loyalty study found 84% of consumers say instantly redeeming loyalty rewards points improves shopping experiences.

Mutichannel. Multilocation UseUsing one, integrated platform also allows your customers to use their loyalty cards and redeem points anywhere. You customers can easily see how many rewards points they have, whether they’re shopping online, on their smartphones, or in any store location. Integrated platform = seamless shopping experiences.

IT EfficiencyAnother advantage to integrating systems is that they’re easier for your IT resources to manage, update, secure, and integrate with third-party applications. When you integrate systems, you gain the ability to centrally manage all of your applications, rather than logging into separate dashboards and spending extra time on clunky workflows.

A Loyalty Program is Too Important to Not Have

Your loyal customers are the most important to your business. Most retailers find that the Pareto Principle — that 20% of customers are responsible for 80% of revenues — applies. So it makes the most sense to do everything you can to optimize customer experiences for that 20%. Integrating your loyalty program with your POS system is a key step toward keeping the right merchandise in stock, personalizing service, and providing seamless loyalty experiences wherever your customers shop.

As Chief Operating Officer, Pankaj Mathur leads the development and consulting practice of CitiXsys. It is under Pankaj’s tutelage that the CitiXsys retail strategy is transformed to fully functional feature-rich enterprise software, which is now being delivered to global markets. As a strategic thinker and retail evangelist, Pankaj leverages his expertise in product management, software engineering and business operations to drive business growth and frictionless customer experiences.

]]>https://ivend.com/5-good-reasons-to-integrate-your-retail-loyalty-program-with-your-pos-system/feed/0Why You Should Be Offering Your Shoppers a Rewards Programhttps://ivend.com/why-you-should-be-offering-your-shoppers-a-rewards-program/
https://ivend.com/why-you-should-be-offering-your-shoppers-a-rewards-program/#respondThu, 25 Oct 2018 07:14:11 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20429Retailers and hospitality businesses should be offering their customers a rewards program for two fundamental reasons: firstly, consumers want recognition from the businesses they buy from, and secondly, there is a richness of data that organisations can tap into if they offer such initiatives.

Today’s consumers are barterers and are increasingly keen for something in return for their custom, while organisations are frantically looking for ways to get closer to their audience. Put simply, a rewards program solves these key issues related to modern-day consumer-focused industries.

Reward Customers in the Right Way

Anecdotal evidence suggests the younger generation of consumers coming through – the millennials and Generation Z, if you want to attach labels to them – understand their personal data and their willingness to spend with a company has value.

There has been heaps of research showing the sassiness of the new-age shopper – if the product or service doesn’t live up to expectations, they’re only too happy to tell everyone about it on social media and other platforms. And this customer expectation around how retailers should treat them has implications in rewards program sense, too.

Recent Forrester research not only suggests nearly half of US online 18–35-year-olds think these programs influence what they buy and how much they spend, it also says 80% of loyalty program members want to receive special treatment not available to other customers.

Business Benefits

Data is in demand across the retail and hospitality sectors, with businesses ranging from the online pure-play variety, such as eBay and Asos, to the ageing retailers like Marks & Spencer and Macy’s recruiting heavily in the data science space.

The rewards program, if implemented correctly, can be the source of much of the data that these ‘scientists’ are looking to crunch in order to create better customer communication and improve business operations based on actual facts and shopper behaviour.

Over the years, noteworthy purveyors of this approach have been Tesco in the UK with its well-used Clubcard, and Starbucks with its rewards scheme that is used by more than 15 million people in the US alone.

Referencing research from professional services firm Deloitte in his copy, he indicates that although 54% of the 2,000 consumers who answered the survey claim they like points-based loyalty schemes, less than half of consumers always redeem all their points. Deloitte argues that popular loyalty schemes of recent years were designed for previous generations, but times have changed, and they must now serve new purposes.

Now, brand loyalty is said to be driven more by customer service, convenience, and the overall shopping experience than the loyalty scheme itself, so any rewards program that is going to have resonance today must play up to these consumer desires and provide the whole package. That finding chimes with the Forrester stats, too.

If these goals can be achieved it will tick the two key boxes for retailers. They’ll be delivering customer satisfaction while also ensuring there is a continued flow of insightful data moving through their business, which can be used for cementing these consumer relationships yet further.

Senior Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific and the Americas, for CitiXsys, Paula Da Silva has more than 10 years’ experience in the retail industry associated with delivering innovative software solutions to mid and large sized retailers. Known for her strong track record of operational excellence and managing a global ecosystem of technology partners, Paula has been instrumental in building the iVend Retail into a global market leader in the retail industry and plays a major role in the Company’s overall performance.

]]>https://ivend.com/why-you-should-be-offering-your-shoppers-a-rewards-program/feed/0How to Launch a Loyalty Program that Really Workshttps://ivend.com/how-to-launch-a-loyalty-program-that-really-works/
https://ivend.com/how-to-launch-a-loyalty-program-that-really-works/#respondTue, 23 Oct 2018 12:05:24 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20423For a loyalty Program that really works, retailers and hospitality firms need to think cross-channel and think in an integrated manner.

Clearly there are various other components to think about when creating a loyalty campaign that you want to help increase customer stickiness, but following those two fundamental rules gives businesses a framework for success.

Loyalty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Make your brand the destination of choice, with iVend Loyalty

But the best way to launch a loyalty Program that resonates with their customers is for businesses to actually speak to those shoppers and find out what it is they want from a brand. Professional services group Deloitte conducted research last year, which shines a light on some of those requirements and I believe it points organisations on the path to rolling out successful schemes.

Identify What Customers Want

The Deloitte study is noteworthy because it didn’t just ask a token number of people for its research – there were 2,000 UK consumers questioned in total, giving a strong flavour of what people are looking for from loyalty schemes.

Key findings included 22% of respondents have unused loyalty points, which suggests that many of the schemes in operation today are not working as they should be. It said there’s a need to rethink traditional loyalty schemes.

Some 54% of those answering the survey claim they like points-based loyalty schemes, but only half of consumers (47%) always redeem all of points. 18 to 24-year olds were found to be even less likely to redeem points (40%) despite 60% enjoying this type of loyalty scheme.

Brand loyalty was said to be driven more by customer service, convenience, and the overall shopping experience than having a traditional loyalty scheme, so any loyalty Program that is going to work should ensure it is playing to these identified consumer desires.

Look at What Already Works

When retailers enter new international markets, they look at what incumbent retailers are doing and replicate where possible in order to gain traction with their new target demographic. In a similar way, there’s nothing wrong with looking at other loyalty schemes in the market and trying to duplicate some of the best features.

A standout loyalty scheme is the one from global coffee chain Starbucks, which added almost two million to its Starbucks Rewards scheme in the US in its third quarter alone. There are now 15.1 million active users of the scheme in the US, with total loyalty member spend now representing around 40% of US company-operated sales.

Its Mobile Order and Pay service is wrapped up with the loyalty Program, giving that all-important convenience and experience consumers are craving too.

Don’t Build Loyalty Program in a Siloed Way

What is great about the Starbucks loyalty Program is it is viewed internally – and by its customers – as a central cog of the whole operation: it certainly couldn’t be described as an add-on element.

It’s something other organisations operating in retail and hospitality would do well to bear in mind when rolling out their own Programs aimed at increasing customer stickiness and rewarding loyalty.

Retailers should be looking at flexible points and rewards management applications that are available both digitally or on a card, and which allow accrued points to be redeemable across channels for discounts, gift items or other rewards that make a customer feel special.

If they build these Programs in collaboration with customers, this will inevitably lead to deeper relationships forming and it will then open up access to shopping histories and preferences. Well-connected schemes will enable retailers to send out mobile notifications, digital coupons, and reward points that offer personalised incentives for customers to choose their stores over others.

Make a loyalty Program a seamless part of wider retail operations, and customers will use it and love it. That’s got to be the end goal.

As Deloitte’s head of consumer business research Ben Perkins states: “Consumers want to be recognised and rewarded as individuals, not as faceless points collectors.

“A decade on from the introduction of the first smartphone, today’s savvy consumer also expects brands to be more relevant in the way they communicate and engage with them.”

CEO of CitiXsys Kamal Karmakar is widely respected as an innovator and expert strategist within the retail sector. Under his guidance, CitiXsys has established itself as a market leader in retail technology with a reputation for delivering integrated retail management solutions (iVend Retail) for the way retailers work today.

]]>https://ivend.com/how-to-launch-a-loyalty-program-that-really-works/feed/0eCommerce: The Pros and Cons of Online Sellinghttps://ivend.com/ecommerce-the-pros-and-cons-of-online-selling/
Mon, 08 Oct 2018 06:46:39 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20399Brick-and-mortar retailers seem to have a love-hate relationship with eCommerce. Online sellers represent a new faction of competition for the neighborhood store or regional chain. On the other hand, adding an online channel gives retailers new opportunities to grow their businesses.

If you’re undecided about the value that adding an eCommerce channel can offer your business — or if you’ve begun selling online, but aren’t seeing the benefits — weighing the pros and cons of this revenue stream can help you make an informed decision and shape your business strategy.

Become an Omnichannel Powerhouse

Leverage online sales to drive brick and mortar sales.

eCommerce Pros

Expanded reach: Selling online allows you reach more people anytime, day or night, across the country or even around the world. It may even help you connect with people in your own backyard who are unable to go out to shop or who simply prefer to shop online.

New services: With an eCommerce website, you can provide your customers with additional conveniences. For example, you can offer Click and Collect/ Buy Online Pickup In Store (BOPIS), enabling your customers to browse your inventory online and then order for convenient in-store pickup. Our 2018 Global Path to Purchase Survey found about half of all shoppers around the world take advantage of this omnichannel opportunity. Additionally, an eCommerce website allows you to easily offer home delivery, advance orders of new products, and quick links to product information that help customers make buying decisions.

Greater insights into your customer base: eCommerce websites can provide you with a wealth of information on customer browsing and buying habits, which, when combined with in-store data from your point of sale (POS) system or other technologies, will give you a 360-degree view of individual shoppers. This insight enables you to personalize service, tailor promotions, and target offers for greatest effectiveness and greatest return.

Endless aisle: With the right system, in-store shoppers never have to leave empty-handed because the items they want are out of stock. Managing eCommerce with in-store inventory gives you the ability to locate an item, down to the size and color, in your inventory or supply chain, and have it shipped to the customer, saving the sale.

eCommerce Cons (and How to Avoid Them)

Software integration issues: If your eCommerce solution doesn’t seamlessly integrate with your enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer databases, point of sale (POS) and other business systems, you’ll waste time with double data entry and an increased chance for errors. Opt for a fully integrated platform that gives you centralized management capabilities and that shares data from all channels across your entire organization.

Poor inventory visibility: Similarly, if you attempt to manage inventory for your physical locations separately from your online channels, you (and your customers) will lack visibility into available stock. Costs of safety stock and overstocks will be higher as well. Solve this problem by managing inventory with a single stock pool.

Disjointed shopping experience: Your customers expect consistent shopping experiences, regardless of which channel they choose to engage with your brand. Merchandise, pricing, loyalty rewards — even the look and feel of your physical and online storefronts — should be the same on all channels. Shoppers, virtually all of whom now use multiple channels on their path to purchase, also want the ability to start the shopping journey on one channel and complete it on another. Create seamless shopping experiences that maintain your high standards for customer service and your brand image across all channels.

Poor mCommerce experience: Many consumers prefer to shop via smartphone; in fact, eMarketer reports that worldwide mCommerce sales reached an estimated $1.357 trillion in 2017, 58.9% of overall eCommerce spending. Furthermore, mCommerce is projected to account for 72.9% of eCommerce by 2021. Make sure your eCommerce website is mobile responsive or you provide an app for convenient mCommerce to capitalize on this growing trend.

Launching an eCommerce channel can mean increased reach, increased sales, and even heavier brick-and-mortar traffic. But you need to avoid the potential downside with the right strategies, the right technology, and the right processes so your business can enjoy maximum benefits.

As Chief Operating Officer, Pankaj Mathur leads the development and consulting practice of CitiXsys. It is under Pankaj’s tutelage that the CitiXsys retail strategy is transformed to fully functional feature-rich enterprise software, which is now being delivered to global markets. As a strategic thinker and retail evangelist, Pankaj leverages his expertise in product management, software engineering and business operations to drive business growth and frictionless customer experiences.

]]>10 Reasons VARs are Losing Retail Business by Not Selling an eCommerce Solutionhttps://ivend.com/10-reasons-vars-are-losing-retail-business-by-not-selling-an-ecommerce-solution/
Fri, 28 Sep 2018 09:02:32 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20355Value-added resellers (VAR) in the retail space need to be talking a language comprising bricks and clicks if they are to continue expanding their businesses and supporting their customers’ growth strategies.

Retail’s eCommerce Solution

At iVend Retail we have an eCommerce solution that helps support retailers’ omnichannel development plans

With the rapid rise of eCommerce in the last ten years, it’s clear most retailers are thinking about more than how technology can improve their stores when they invest in new solutions. Consequently, VARs who still think in siloed channels when it comes to retail technology are missing a trick.

Here are the ten reasons why VARs are losing business by not selling technology with an eCommerce solution:

Retailers Understand the Power of Bricks & Clicks

In the raft of retailer results and strategy announcements we’ve seen as summer turns into autumn, there have been multiple references to the need to adopt a bricks and clicks strategy.

From Oasis, Next and Kingfisher in the UK, to Neiman Marcus and Nike in the US, and Ahold Delhaize in Europe, retailers are developing their propositions for both a digital and physical environment – and they are looking for the best solutions to make this as easy and profitable process as possible.

Online Pureplays Opening Stores

It works both ways, of course. There are multiple online-first retailers, including Amazon, Boden, Missguided, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s company Goop, that are opening stores. As they make the move into bricks, they will want their eCommerce solution to integrate with the stores – they will probably expect that it does.

Click & Collect Clamour

Click & collect, or BOPIS as it is known in some territories, is growing in demand which shows the need for retailers to link up online and digital channels with an appropriate eCommerce solution. The service is selected for over a third of orders made on multichannel retail websites in the UK, and around 10% for all online orders, according to trade body IMRG.

Missing Out on New Technology Budget Holders

Once the preserve of the CIO, technology investment is increasingly dictated by marketing and eCommerce teams, research from Martec International states, so it’s important VARs have the solutions that appeal to multiple departments.

The eCommerce Market Continues to Grow

It is eCommerce, where the fastest growth is coming from. According to eMarketer, in 2017 retail eCommerce sales worldwide reached $2.30 trillion, which represented a 24.8% increase year on year. And total retail sales last year reached $22.64 trillion – at the slower growth rate of 5.8%.

Emerging Markets’ eCommerce Focus

Another reason VARs are losing business by not selling an eCommerce solution is because online retail is growing in developing regions too – not just the mature US and UK markets.

The eMarketer research shows that in the emerging digital markets of central and eastern Europe, as well as parts of south-east Asia, eCommerce accounted for less than 5% of retail sales – but was still a growing part of the mix. Latin America and the Middle East and Africa showed similar patterns.

International Cross-Border Sales

Retailers’ horizons are being broadened, and more players in the industry are seeing themselves as international organisations thanks to the use of eCommerce.

Stats from eMarketer show an improving export business, higher employment and wages, as well as rising eCommerce and cross-border sales across Asia-Pacific, North America and Western Europe were all factors in driving retail spending last year.

One Single View of Operations Required

The more retailers expand their digital footprint, the more they need one view of operations across channels to ensure they can keep control of their business. They require a suitable omnichannel or eCommerce solution to do this.

Finally, a back story to this all, is retailers are looking to work with suppliers that understand the industry’s issues; they are seeking omnichannel experts which can offer an eCommerce solution that neatly fits with, and joins together, their other channels.

In this time of transformation for the industry, more retailers want to get up to speed and ensure they are selling on all the relevant channels for their customer base. VARs can make their lives easier by selling in omnichannel technology fit for that environment to become a core, long-term partner for retailers navigating their path in the new world.

Senior Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific and the Americas, for CitiXsys, Paula Da Silva has more than 10 years’ experience in the retail industry associated with delivering innovative software solutions to mid and large sized retailers. Known for her strong track record of operational excellence and managing a global ecosystem of technology partners, Paula has been instrumental in building the iVend Retail into a global market leader in the retail industry and plays a major role in the Company’s overall performance.

]]>How to Prepare Your Business for Cross Border eCommercehttps://ivend.com/how-to-prepare-your-business-for-cross-border-ecommerce/
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 06:09:41 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20314Cross-border eCommerce will make up 20% of all online retail in 2022, according to analyst group Forrester – suggesting it could be a lucrative area of focus for retailers currently shaping their omnichannel strategies.

Bricks and Clicks in Harmony

Learn how to integrate eCommerce into store operations to support international retailing

With Forrester expecting sales of $627 billion to be conducted through cross-border eCommerce in four years’ time, global retailers should be doing all they can to take a significant slice of market share. But what are the key things they need to know before embarking on a more international strategy, using eCommerce?

Partners and Options

Some 70% of consumers already make at least one cross-border purchase annually, according to a survey of 12,000 people and 1,200 retailers from eight countries by IDC Research and ORC International.

And as Michael Griffiths, vice president, global marketing, retail & eCommerce at Pitney Bowes, says: “The choice of partner couldn’t be more important” when expanding horizons to new territories. He suggests “the opportunity it too big and the stakes are too high” to be careless when choosing global distribution partners – so retailers should assess the market thoroughly.

Some retailers and brands will use third-party logistics providers to get goods from A to B cross border, some will opt for drop-shipping companies, while others will fulfil to their customers from their local stores, activated by a central system. Retailers need to do the maths to work out the best option for their operation.

How the Market is Changing

Cross-border shoppers are becoming more sophisticated and confident in ordering from foreign territories, and emerging markets identified by Forrester such as the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are among those adopting cross-border eCommerce. Asia Pacific, driven by China, is said to be the largest cross-border eCommerce region for both imports and exports, though.

Globalisation of this nature presents so many more selling opportunities for retailers. The high street or main street shop window is opened up to the world, and sales can be aided by the growing number of cross-border services offered by marketplaces and logistics companies.

UK retailer Fat Face is an example of a mid-sized fashion retailer making progress with its omnichannel strategy, in combination with growth in new international markets.

Fat Face eCommerce sales now represent 18% of overall business, and the company is looking to drive its global business. By shipping online orders internationally for some time, it has built up a reputation outside its home country, paving the way for it to open non-UK stores and widen its reach. It has opened five stores in the US just last year alone, and there are plans for more.

Integration to Connect Nations

To fully take advantage of the cross-border eCommerce market’s potential, retailers need to integrate the most suitable technology into their stores and back-office operations.

Selling online, selling on mobile and integrating these eCommerce systems to sell more in stores has never been so simple. And it will also make services like click & collect easier to manage centrally.

With the iVend eCommerce feature, retailers can create powerful omnichannel experiences, wherever their customers are located. It can be seamlessly integrated to the iVend Retail management suite, or any merchandise management or ERP system, and allows retailers to reach a new online audience, or customers in different countries, or make cross-border orders – all while maintaining a central view of transactions.

At the beginning of the digital age, many retailers saw eCommerce as a threat to the future of their business. In the years since, as eCommerce has grown in popularity with consumers and businesses have developed their own compelling online offerings, the situation has clearly changed.

The real forward-thinking ones are building their business models as a hybrid of bricks and clicks – and the ones gaining the most traction are those who’ve tidily integrated online features into their stores and are using them to reach customers far and wide.

CEO of CitiXsys Kamal Karmakar is widely respected as an innovator and expert strategist within the retail sector. Under his guidance, CitiXsys has established itself as a market leader in retail technology with a reputation for delivering integrated retail management solutions (iVend Retail) for the way retailers work today.

]]>The 6 Most Used mPOS Featureshttps://ivend.com/the-6-most-used-mpos-features/
Mon, 03 Sep 2018 10:18:58 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20287The number of retailers implementing mobile point of sale (mPOS) has dramatically increased over the past decade. In fact, a Global Market Insights research report predicts the global mobile POS market will grow at a CAGR of 18% from 2018 to 2024.

Personalized Service At Your Fingertips

Release store employees from the cash wrap and get them out on the floor.

When we talk to business owners, though, it seems they haven’t quite figured out yet all of the value their new mobile POS technology can provide. Mobile POS is a great solution if your store lacks counter space and if you want the ability to quickly spin up an extra check out or returns aisle. But mobile POS gives you the ability to do so much more.

Here are the top six most used mPOS features and how smart retailers take advantage of them:

MobilityIt may seem obvious that mobile POS gives you POS mobility. But have you fully explored what that can mean to your business? Sales associates no longer have to stand behind the cash wrap. They can carry a tablet or mobile device as they assist customers in the aisles and complete sales right at the point of decision, increasing conversions. It also frees you to manage sidewalk sales, tent sales, or trunk show and to easily have POS functionality at a pop-up shop or at booth at a community event. It gives you the power to expand your strategy to do business almost anywhere.

Queue BustingNo one likes to wait, and queueing up is beginning to feel like an outdated practice. Why should customers in a brick-and-mortar store or restaurant have to queue up when consumers never have to do it online? With mobile POS, sales associates or cashiers can move from behind the counter to assist customers in a timelier manner.

Inventory LookupBeyond checkout functionality, mobile POS also gives your employees easy access to information as they assist customers. A sales associate won’t have to leave the customer’s side to check inventory in the stock room. The answer is available with just a few taps on a tablet’s touchscreen. Moreover, if the item isn’t in stock at the store, the sales associate can locate it and have it shipped to the store or directly to the customer, saving the sale.

Access to Customer DataYour customers appreciate (and expect) personalized service. With mobile POS, your staff can look up a customer’s past purchases, online browsing history, loyalty rewards totals and other data that can help engage the customer and make relevant — and effective — upsell or cross-sell offers. Couldn’t your staff improve performance if they had insights into customers’ favorite brands? Mobile POS can connect them with the information they need to increase sales.

Alternative PaymentsMobile POS makes transactions easy by accepting any type of payment. Mobile POS devices can connect to mobile printers and cash drawers, include payment card readers, and accept contactless and mobile wallet payments including Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay so consumers can use smartphones to pay for goods and services.

Inventory CountsYou can forever eliminate paper from the process of taking an inventory count. Mobile POS equipped with a barcode scanner can make quick work of taking an accurate count. And the data is automatically populated into your inventory management system, providing a true, real-time count with no delays waiting for data entry or syncing.

How Will You Use Mobile POS?

Although mobile POS has been a mainstay of many retail businesses for some time now, the industry still seems to be exploring its potential. We’ve seen retailers improve efficiency, productivity, and customer experiences by adding mobile POS to their strategies.

As Chief Operating Officer, Pankaj Mathur leads the development and consulting practice of CitiXsys. It is under Pankaj’s tutelage that the CitiXsys retail strategy is transformed to fully functional feature-rich enterprise software, which is now being delivered to global markets. As a strategic thinker and retail evangelist, Pankaj leverages his expertise in product management, software engineering and business operations to drive business growth and frictionless customer experiences.

]]>4 Drivers for the Mobile Point of Sale Trend in the Retail Industryhttps://ivend.com/4-drivers-for-the-mobile-point-of-sale-trend-in-the-retail-industry/
Wed, 29 Aug 2018 05:53:03 +0000https://ivend.com/?p=20272It’s unusual to talk to a retail business or hospitality firm today that isn’t planning to implement or hasn’t already implemented mobile point of sale (mPOS) technology to serve their customers away from a fixed terminal. And that’s because several industry drivers are making the tech invaluable.

Experts in mPOS

We are experts at helping retailers and hospitality companies get the most out of mobile point of sale technology

From my assessment of the market, there are four key reasons I think mobile point of sale continues to hit the right notes across retail and its adjacent markets. Here’s my take, which should give VARs enough justification to encourage their customers to invest in this technology:

Compelling CX Above All ElseRetail boards around the world are continually saying they are focused, above everything else, on delivering a suitable, relevant and enjoyable customer experience (CX), to ensure they gain repeat business and therefore drive up lifetime value from consumers.

Against this backdrop, mobile point of sale can be a saviour. Most customer angst in a store comes from out-of-stock products, queues or bad service, but mPOS technology can help businesses avoid all of these situations.

It can be used by store associates to locate and order inventory from an alternative location if a customer’s desired item in not stocked in their shop; it enables staff to serve people in the aisles, thus making queues redundant; and it is a device retailers can use to guide sales and showcase expertise.

Changing Role of the StoreIn retail technology circles software as a service is en vogue. But my argument is that we’re also seeing the rise of the store as a service.

From everyday items to big-ticket purchases, so many products are easily available to purchase online, meaning stores must emphasise their points of difference and their raison d’etre in order to drive customer traffic and consequent sales. One of the stand-out functions of a store is its capacity to provide in-depth advice and consultancy from product experts, and mPOS can aid this process if it is linked to wider inventory information, product videos, customer history and the like.

Stores are not just sheds for stocking product any more. They represent the stages on which retailers can showcase their talents, and mobile point of sale can be one of their crowd-pleasing instruments.

Trendy Technology SellsOne thing we’ve all learned from the increasingly digital world is that image matters to people. As evidenced by the rise of the selfie generation and the ‘look-at-me’ attitude prevalent on social media, everyone these days seems to want to present themselves in the best possible light.

For stores operating in such a world, there’s no place for old, unreliable technology. By using tablet devices to serve customers and showcase wider inventory to these shoppers – or in the hospitality space, to take table bookings or process an order – businesses are displaying their modernity and proving themselves part of the shiny, tech-savvy generation.

Bricks and Clicks CombineIf CX is the buzz phrase most regularly refenced by the retail c-suite, then omnichannel preparedness is arguably not far behind.

As traditional retailers and hospitality companies build their online commerce capabilities, and digital-first players increasingly develop physical locations from which to engage with customers, the key to success is in integrating all channels and maintaining a single view of operations across them.

Mobile point of sale software enables businesses to achieve this, and better still, its accessibility on a tablet device means they can access this information at a crucial point in the selling process, thus using it to upsell, cross-sell or order from a different store or warehouse.

There can’t be many retail or hospitality organisations not impacted by these four trends, and that is why VARs operating in the space should be talking up the merits of mPOS at every given opportunity

Senior Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific and the Americas, for CitiXsys, Paula Da Silva has more than 10 years’ experience in the retail industry associated with delivering innovative software solutions to mid and large sized retailers. Known for her strong track record of operational excellence and managing a global ecosystem of technology partners, Paula has been instrumental in building the iVend Retail into a global market leader in the retail industry and plays a major role in the Company’s overall performance.